The Rise of the Accreditor as Big Man on Campus

The gatekeepers of federal student aid wield too much influence in higher education.

By

Hank Brown

Jan. 14, 2013 7:23 p.m. ET

Who's in charge of our colleges and universities—their boards of trustees or the accreditation organizations that are the gatekeepers of federal aid? That's the question I'm left asking after a decision by the Southern Association of Colleges (SACS), one of six regional accreditors recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, to put the University of Virginia, founded in 1819 by no less than Thomas Jefferson, on "warning."